In this post we would like to introduce the latest version
of the IBM Storage Driver for OpenStack, which we released on January 31st,
2013.

If by any chance you are unfamiliar with OpenStack, check
out the official OpenStack project website at: www.openstack.org

To put in a few words, OpenStack is an open-source software platform
for building private and public cloud environments. The IBM driver is a
software component that enables storage provisioning of the IBM XIV Storage Systems in OpenStack
cloud environments.

The latest IBM driver version was preceded by an earlier one
(1.1.0), which enabled basic storage provisioning operations, such as volume
creation and deletion from OpenStack Cinder Node, and volume attachment to
OpenStack VMs.

The new release (1.1.1) further enhances the integration
between OpenStack and IBM XIV Storage System by adding support for XIV
volume snapshot functions.

For example, let's look at the following OpenStack Web UI management page:

In this example, if you want to create a snapshot of ‘vol1’ on
IBM XIV Storage System, you can use the ‘Create Snapshot’ action using either
OpenStack CLI or Web UI.

Here is your created snapshot, as can be viewed from the
XIV GUI:

Similarly, you can use OpenStack's ‘Create volume from
snapshot’ action to create a volume based on an existing snapshot.

An additional ease-of-use enhancement in version 1.1.1 is
the new unattended installation option, allowing no user interaction during the
installation, perfect for automating the installation process. You can use the following command format to install the IBM driver
in an unattended mode:

The IBM Storage Driver for OpenStack can be downloaded here along with the Installation Guide and Release Notes.

Whenever you choose to integrate your IBM XIV Storage System with an
OpenStack cloud environment, our driver is available to help you achieve this
goal. We are happy to provide this newer version that further facilitates and
enhances the utilization of your XIV storage resources and capabilities in your
cloud environment.